So much for stopping anything stupid from happening, you idiot.
I struggled to recall the night before. There was a memory of getting pushed against her at the cocktail bar, and then Carla took her away for group photos, and then what? My memory of the night after that point was hazy, filled with bits and pieces of unimportant conversations with people from high school and constant glances in her direction.
“Damn,” I muttered as I forced my way back to my bedroom, a towel wrapped around my hips. She was still asleep when I sat down beside her. I risked shifting the duvet to see, with relief, that she still had her underwear on. I’d also had my underwear on when I woke up, which suggested we hadn’t gotten as far as I’d feared.
My racing heart calmed long enough to look at her sleeping face. Her eye makeup was smudged, as was her lipstick. The same color I’d washed from my face moments ago. Her hair was in disarray, but despite all of that, she was damn beautiful. Almost angelic, though that wasn’t a word I’d ever use to describe the woman in front of me.
Ignoring my brain screaming no, I ran a hand over her hair, smoothing it back and away from her face.
She opened her eyes.
“Were you pretending to be asleep?” My hand jerked back so fast it smacked me in the face.
“Obviously,” she replied, her voice a little hoarse. She coughed to clear her throat. “I woke up when you hung up the phone.” She was once again checking me out. I almost regretted not getting dressed before sitting on the bed—almost.
I fumbled for something to say. “Do you … do you want some water?”
“Please.”
I resisted the urge to flat-out run to the bathroom. When I returned with a full glass and painkillers, she thanked me with a nod before taking both, drinking the water as eagerly as I had done.
With her sitting up in bed, I could see far more of her lacy black underwear and almost cursed when I reacted to it.
She raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”
“What happened last night?” I blurted, sitting down to hide that a lingerie-clad Rose was a sight that turned me on. “We didn’t …”
To my surprise, she laughed. “You don’t remember?”
I shook my head, which only made her laugh harder.
“We left the bar together around midnight and headed back here. We made it to the bed, and then—”
“Then?”
“You fell off trying to remove your shirt and knocked yourself out.” She wiped a tear away from her eye. “I was so angry at first, but honestly, it was hilarious.”
“You aren’t going to tell anyone, are you?”
“What, and lose the right to lord it over you forever? God no. This is staying between the two of us.”
“That simultaneously makes me feel better and worse.”
She reined in her laughter. “Do you always act outrageously when you’re drunk?”
I shrugged. “Sometimes. When I was working in Aspen Cove with my brothers, we got wasted one night and, apparently, I sang karaoke all night. And danced. And hit on the ex of the guy we were working with.”
“Sounds like you know how to handle your liquor.”
“Usually I’m fine, but I drank a lot last night. And …”
She quirked a brow. “And?”
I gave her an obvious once-over, which caused her to blush. “And there was a certain someone there that had me on edge the whole night.”
“Oh, so you do remember last night?”
“Only bits and pieces. Not much. Not after we were pushed against the wall.”
She let the sheet fall to her waist. “It was an interesting night.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the alabaster skin of her breasts that spilled over the top of the lacy material. “That’s … one way to put it.” I shook my head and stood. “Do you want to use my shower?”
“Yes, if that’s okay. Showing up at my mom’s looking like this will make her freak.”
Her mentioning her mom caused me to reach for my phone and check the time. I swore loudly. “I need to be at your place in half an hour to fix your mom’s oven and to cut the grass.”
Her mouth twisted and settled into a frown.
“Great. She’s going to love the two of us showing up together.”
“She’ll love it even more if we don’t clean ourselves up.” I handed her a towel. “Go make yourself decent.”
She laughed. “I don’t think there’s any way I can make last night’s outfit look decent.” She looked around my room. “Would you get my dress for me?”
I paused before saying, “Your what?”
“My dress. I took it off in the hallway. Right by the front door. You don’t remember anything, do you?” She licked her lips. “It’s a shame.”
I left the bedroom without saying another word, moving down the hallway until I found the incriminating evidence. The shiny pink fabric caught the sunlight streaming into my house, reflecting it back at me. It reminded me of how it had caught the colored lights of the bar, and how beautiful she’d looked wearing it.
I glanced in the direction of the bathroom, where the sound of running water echoed past the closed door. No doubt she looked even better without clothes on.
When I returned to my bedroom, I rummaged through my closet, first getting dressed and then locating a flannel shirt she could wear over her dress. It was definitely too hot outside for it, but it was better than having her walk home nearly naked.
“Better than me having to put up with her wearing it and doing nothing about it,” I muttered.
“What did you say?”
I whipped around. She stood in the doorway wrapped in a towel, her skin glistening from the shower. Her face was clear of makeup, and her hair was tied back in a messy bun, yet she somehow looked ridiculously sexy.
I looked away. “I didn’t say anything. Here,” I said, holding out the shirt for her. “Put this on over your dress.”
“You worried about my reputation?”
“Absolutely not. I’m worried about mine.”
She burst out laughing. “I suppose I can wear it to make you feel better.”
I tossed it into her hands. “Do what you like.”
She came around to face me, her lips falling into a pout. “Don’t be like that. I was teasing.”
With her wet, full lips calling me and big blue eyes staring me down, a droplet of water fell over her collarbone to drip between her towel-encased breasts. I wanted to grab her and throw her on the bed—to show her what I likely would have done had I not fallen into unconsciousness the night before.
Instead, I gave her a small smile. “Get dressed. I’ll be late at the rate you’re going.”
“I’m pretty sure my mom won’t care what time you show up if you show up with me.”
She turned out to be correct, as demonstrated by the look of sheer glee on Lucy’s face when the two of us appeared at her front door together.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed, “what have we here? Paxton, were you taking good care of my daughter for me? I was worried about her, you know?” She looked at Rose. “You could have messaged me to say you weren’t coming home.”
Rose made a face. “I’m not sixteen, Mom. I can stay out all night if I want to.”
“You’re forgiven since you were with Paxton,” Lucy stressed my name as she beamed at me.
“Mom, nothing happened between us,” Rose said, though it fell on deaf ears.
“What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom. Now, Paxton, would you be a dear and cut the grass first? I swear, it gets so long so quickly now with all this sunshine.”
Rose disappeared inside as I headed to the shed to get the lawnmower. It was so hot outside; I ended up pulling off my T-shirt before starting the work, which earned me a whistle of appreciation from Lucy.
“Rose, dear, come sit outside with me when you’ve changed clothes. The view is spectacular,” she called back into the house.
I shook my head at m
y fate.
What I hadn’t expected was Rose to appear in a racy black bikini, which reminded me of the lingerie she’d been wearing last night. Only this had less material. I assumed it was her intention to distract, though the sunglasses she wore hid her expression well.
Her gaze lingered on me. She slid her sunglasses down her nose a little as if appraising me as well. I resisted the urge to look away.
“Rose, I’d hardly call that a bikini,” Lucy said, though she didn’t sound all that disapproving.
Rose laughed. “Nick sent it over for me—it’s part of a swimwear line I was writing an article for. Who am I to say no to free clothes? Besides, I want to tan as much of my skin as possible. If Paxton weren’t here, I’d sunbathe naked.” She reclined into a lounge chair without another word, crossing her long legs in front of her as she left me with the tantalizing image of her lying naked in the sun.
This was worse than her calling me names.
Chapter Fourteen
Rose
“Come on, Paxton, you have to try it. It’s so hot out. Maybe you could sit down and join us before you finish? I don’t want you collapsing from the heat.”
I lie back on one of the loungers as my mom offered him pink lemonade while he staunchly refused. I suppressed a grin. I knew what was going through his head right now—aside from an alcohol-induced migraine—as much as I knew exactly what I was doing to keep those thoughts in his head.
He had passed out on me, and I wanted payback. I wouldn’t be able to let this rest until we slept together. Then my curiosity would be satisfied, and I could put all thoughts of him to sleep.
Knowing the conclusion I’d reached the night before when I watched him sleep, I knew I was lying to myself. I didn’t want it to be just once, but I couldn’t do anything about that right now. Especially not when he seemed horrified by the idea that we’d come close to doing the deed.
What options did I have? All I could do was wear the tiniest bikini I owned and lie out in the sun in front of him as he mowed the lawn—shirtless. It was like the beginning of a smutty B-movie, and I was okay with that.
He ignored me as he mowed over the grass, but I knew he was aware of my presence. I could see it in the way his muscles tensed whenever he passed my line of sight. The way he kept his eyes downcast to make sure he couldn’t accidentally sneak a peek.
I’d seen the way he looked at me when I’d shown up in the garden wearing a piece of floss and two pasties. I didn’t imagine I had to do much more to crumble his resolve.
I never would have thought this kind of teasing would be possible with him, but I was enjoying it immensely.
My phone buzzed to life now that I’d charged it, and a hoard of notifications bombarded the device. Most of them were from Carla, wondering where I’d gone the night before, followed by outrageous and delighted comments about how people had spotted Paxton and me leaving the cocktail bar at the same time. She naturally put two and two together and had reached the conclusion we’d slept together.
It’s what we had intended to do, and she’d never believe me if I said he knocked himself out, anyway.
I replied to her barrage of messages by saying that I had stayed the night at his house, leaving no further comment for her to interpret. I knew it would drive her mad, which caused me to smile. Carla would demand details over the next few days, so it wouldn’t hurt her to wait a little longer.
Other notifications were photos being posted from the previous night, including a candid one of Paxton and me laughing at something he’d said, and he had a sexy smirk on his face.
To the unknowing, we looked like a couple.
I glanced up from my phone to look at the real thing.
God, he looked great working on the lawn. His skin, with its light sheen of sweat, glistened in the sunlight. Whenever his hair fell into his eyes, he paused to push it away from his forehead. His muscles rippled when he stretched, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away. What kind of self-respecting, hot-blooded female had that kind of control? Not me.
My mom sat beside me, pushing me for details about the night before. Eventually, it got to be a little too much. I unlocked my phone and tried to engage in a text conversation with Nick, but I was distracted by the sight in front of me. Knowing he would be delighted with the gesture, and more than a little jealous, I took a photo of Paxton and sent it to Nick.
He looked up when he realized a phone was pointed in his direction, frowning slightly as he held a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. I grinned at him unapologetically, shrugging my shoulders as if I were saying, “What did you expect?”
He shook his head at my shamelessness, but he smiled.
As he seemed to finish cutting the grass, I became worried that my skin would burn. I hadn’t put sunblock on in my haste to get outside and flaunt in front of him, and I didn’t want that to bite me in the ass so close to Carla’s wedding.
With reluctance, I moved back inside, heading upstairs to my bedroom to inspect my skin in my full-length mirror. I hadn’t burned, which was great, but I was too close to risk going back outside without putting on sunblock and letting it soak into my skin.
That meant I couldn’t put it on while I was outside and make him watch. I shouldn’t have been so quick to go outside in the first place, but then I remembered him mentioning that he was fixing my mom’s oven after mowing the lawn, which meant he’d be in the kitchen for a while.
A small smile curled my lips. I removed my bikini and put on a deep blue, short silk kimono that I’d ordered online. There were little shorts that were supposed to be worn with it, but the robe itself was long enough for me to get away with wearing it alone.
Playing with my hair until it was artfully tousled, I opened my bedroom door and walked right into Paxton.
“Holy hell,” I called out as he said something similar. I took a step back in order to look at him, only to find him staring right down the front of my kimono, which had loosened when I ran into him.
“I was using the bathroom,” he mumbled. His eyes moved back to mine, watching me intently.
“What is it you’re looking for when you stare at me like that?” I dared to take another step backward to see if he would follow.
He did.
I took another, then another, until he stood on the threshold of my bedroom.
“I don’t know what I’m looking for,” he admitted.
“I don’t think you’ll know until you let this happen.”
“Maybe I don’t want to know.”
I laughed. “You definitely wanted to know last night.”
“We were drunk.”
“And you couldn’t take your eyes off me this morning, either.” I let the kimono slip off my shoulder, satisfied to see his heated gaze flicker as he watched the movement of the fabric before locking eyes with me again.
“I’d have acted like that with any hot woman wrapped in a towel in my bedroom.” His words stung until I realized he was lying. The lie showed in his eyes, which had turned a stormy blue.
“Bullshit. If I were another hot woman, then you would have slept with me last week when I got into town, and that would be it. No. The reason you’re acting like this is because it’s me.”
There was an agonizing pause where it seemed as if he might deny it—might shatter my belief, but then he took a step forward, sliding his hands across the silky fabric at my waist as he closed the gap between us. He rested his forehead on mine, his intense eyes looking at me like I’d never seen them look at a person before.
Only look at me like that. Leave this Paxton for me.
“Fine,” he said simply and quietly. “You win.”
His mouth was on mine as he lifted me one-armed off the floor, using his other to close my bedroom door behind us before pulling the kimono from my body.
His hands were all over me as I nimbly undid the buttons of his jeans, pushing them down as he kicked his shoes off.
We barely reached the bed before he was in me. T
his was not the time or place for us to slowly explore each other’s bodies. No, this was the time for us to fulfill an aching, swelling desire for each other as quickly and as desperately as possible.
Whatever this was could be ironed out later.
Chapter Fifteen
Paxton
I’d been possessed from the moment she barged into me wearing that blue robe. The next fifteen minutes had been a rush of sensations and actions that were both incredibly vivid and blurry at the same time. Bad choices. Intense feelings.
I couldn’t believe it. I’d had sex with Rose Rogers. Of my own free will. And, despite how much better for me it would have been if it had been terrible, it wasn’t. It was the exact opposite of terrible. It was life-altering, which meant I was desperate to do it again.
The two of us lay on our backs, breathing heavily when she rolled over to look at me.
“You look annoyed.”
“I’m annoyed it was good.”
“Most people wouldn’t be annoyed that sex for the first time with someone was good. Generally, it’s awkward and less than expected.”
“Guess I’m a weirdo then.”
She sighed as she rolled onto her front, running a hand through my hair as she gently kissed my lips. It set my heart running.
“I think you could do with being more honest with yourself, Mr. Cooper.”
“What, and have no impulse control like you?”
“It certainly didn’t hurt you today, did it?” she laughed. “Come on, Pax, there’s no way you can regret something happening that felt that damn great, and you know it.”
I stiffened underneath her hand as she trailed it across my chest. She had never called me by my nickname before. It made me feel odd. I wasn’t sure how to describe it. Like by allowing her to use it, I would be accepting her connection to me. Considering what had happened between us, I supposed she was linked to me, but it still felt weird.
Thinking about how different things were between us, I placed one of my hands over hers. “Yeah, you’re right,” I finally agreed. “That felt pretty damn great.”
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